3 or 60? (and Race for the Cure Race Report)

If you had the choice of a 3 mile run or a 60 mile bike, what would you pick?

Saturday had both, starting around 9:00 am with Race for the Cure. This is a race I signed up to do because of the cause vs. most of the other races I do for fun (?) but feel good that there is usually an associated charity.

I was feeling pretty groggy because of taking allergy medicine the night before. As TRIgirl DL and I walked around the race venue, it seemed to become hotter and more humid by the minute. We met up with our TRIgirl team, took a picture, and sweltered some more in the steam room like conditions while waiting for the 5K to begin. After the first mile (which was a decent 9:20), I gave up the idea of trying to hit a PR – and just focused on completing the run without passing out – dumping water on my sweaty self any chance I could get. Which gave me a chance to reflect more on the other participants – and thinking about the people they were running "in memory of" or "in celebration of". I had a pink little sign on my back for celebrating TRIgirl DL. And maybe that is what I should have been focusing on all along.

After the race, we met up with TRIgirls SD and LD for our 60 mile ride. We decided to try a route that started on the border of the city and headed out toward Williamsburg taking Osbourne Road and Route 5. The scenery was lovely as we road the mostly flat terrain through rural neighborhoods. The heat and humidity were not nearly so bad on the bike. We all occasionally commented on how great the ride was – most of the cars and trucks were even polite. Our half-way point was at the Indian Fields Tavern – where TRIgirl SD had a fabulous idea to restock our water bottles. The 30 miles home was a bit more exciting – TRIgirl LD got a flat tire - so we all learned firsthand what works – and doesn’t work – when changing a tire (how many TRIgirls does it take to change a flat tire? – Four!). About a half hour later, we were back on the road, cruising along nicely when big raindrops started to plop down. Then little pelting drops. Then back to the big drops. The rain stopped for the last part of our ride. We pulled into the Shiplock Yard parking lot feeling proud of the new distance accomplishment and physically strong – other than saddle sore butts.

So 3 miles or 60? 31ish minutes vs. 270ish (including pit stops and flat tires).

I’ll still take the bike!